Abstract: Heart of Darkness is one of Conrad’s the most important and greatest novels. Since its publication in 1899, it has attracted a lot of attention from the western critical world. Heart of Darkness is a rather complicated and controversial novella which touches upon politics, morality, religion, psychology, etc. Its intentional implicitness has made possible many different and varied interpretations at different levels. This thesis, by analyzing the truth of Kurtz’s mission to Congo and implication of Kurtz’s infertility, aims to interpret the causes and process of his degradation. It points out that Kurtz’s degradation is the inevitable consequence of colonization. Thus colonization is also a process of decadence and demonization of a person. 

Key words: Joseph Conrad; Heart of Darkness; Kurtz; degradation; colonization

摘要：《黑暗的心》是康拉德最重要的小说之一。自从1899年问世以来，一直备受西方评论界的关注。这些年国内对康拉德的研究也开始升温。《黑暗的心》是一篇复杂而备受争议的短篇小说，它涉及政治、道德、宗教、心理学，等等。从不同角度解读，可得出不同的结论。本文通过分析库尔兹前往刚果的使命的实质和库尔兹无子的暗指，旨在阐述库尔兹堕落的原因和过程。本文指出库尔兹的堕落是殖民的必然后果，因此殖民的过程也是一个人堕落和妖魔化的过程。

关键词：约瑟夫·康拉德；《黑暗之心》；库尔兹；堕落；殖民